Japanese Tofu Salad Food

JAPANESE TOFU SALAD

Steps:

• Place tofu between two plates, and weigh down with a heavy book. Allow tofu to drain for 1 hour, pouring out the expelled liquid every 20 minutes.
• Whisk together the soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, and rice vinegar in a small bowl. Heat the oil in a small pan over medium heat, stir in the garlic and ginger, and gently cook until lightly golden; stir into the soy sauce mixture.
• Cut tofu into bite-sized pieces, and toss together with the tomato, onion, and cilantro. Pour in the dressing and toss to coat. Garnish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

MASHED TOFU SALAD (SHIRA-AE)

Steps:

• Drain the tofu and wrap in paper towels to absorb excess water. Puree in a food processor until smooth, then transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. Cook the spinach in the boiling water until wilted, about 2 minutes, then drain and plunge it into the ice water. Drain and squeeze out the excess water.
• Toast the sesame seeds in a skillet over medium-low heat, tossing, until golden, about 3 minutes. Cool, then grind in a spice grinder. Stir the ground seeds, sugar, mirin, soy sauce and spinach into the tofu. Season with salt.

SPINACH AND TOFU SALAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Slice tofu into 1-inch-by-2-inch pieces about 1/4-inch thick and place in a deep bowl or on a platter.
• Make the marinade: In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, sake, brown sugar, ginger and cayenne. Pour marinade over tofu slices to coat well. Leave in marinade for at least 15 minutes. (You may marinate the tofu up to 24 hours in advance.)
• While the tofu marinates, pick over spinach leaves and remove any tough stems. Swish the spinach in a deep bowl of cold water. Lift leaves from water into a colander. If you see any sand in the water, repeat up to 3 times, using fresh water each time. Drain well and dry spinach, then wrap in a kitchen towel and refrigerate until ready to use. (You may wash the spinach up to 24 hours in advance.)
• Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, brown sugar, sesame oil, vegetable oil, soy sauce, miso, garlic and ginger.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and arrange the tofu pieces in a single layer. Spoon remaining marinade over tofu. Bake, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes, until slightly crisped. Remove and leave at room temperature.
• To make the salad, arrange spinach in a low, wide salad bowl or on a deep platter. Scatter cucumber, daikon and edamame over spinach, then sprinkle with sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and peanuts. Tuck slices of tofu here and there.
• Sprinkle a pinch of salt over everything, then drizzle salad with dressing and serve.

JAPANESE TOFU SALAD DRESSING

Steps:

• Do not use light sesame cooking oil for this. You need to use the dark Asian sesame oil.
• Place in blender.
• Blend for 1 minute.
• chill or serve immed.

VEGAN TOFU CAPRESE SALAD

Steps:

• To drain water from tofu, wrap tofu in paper towl. Warm up in the microwave for 3 minutes.
• In a small bowl, mix rice miso and lemon juice, spread to the entire surface of tofu.
• Fold the marinated tofu with plastic wrap, put in the fridge and let it for a night or for 3 days. Remove miso paste with spoon and slice.
• Arrange tofu, tomatoes and shiso or basil alternately. Drizzle olive oil, sprinkle salt and black pepper.